The idea of turning the air around us into drinking water is a marvel on its own. And grabbing a sustainable amount of it from low-humidity environments has long been closer to science fiction than reality.
As a megadrought stresses the water supply throughout the Southwest, revolutionary research out of University of Nevada, Las Vegas is answering this problem with a groundbreaking technology that pulls large amounts of water from the air in low humidity. The research, whose co-authors include University of Utah department of mechanical engineering professor Sameer Rao, was published Oct. 22 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“This work represents a significant shift in atmospheric water harvesting, opening doors to continuous operation and new applications of water production,” said co-author Sameer Rao, a U mechanical engineering professor. “These innovations are especially critical for the desert Southwest and its sustainability efforts.”
Read the full story in @theU
“High-yield atmospheric water capture via bioinspired material segregation” was published on Oct. 22, 2024, in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Authors come from UNLV, the University of Michigan and the University of Utah. In addition to Cho, co-authors include Yiwei Gao, Areianna Eason, Santiago Ricoy, Addison Cobb, Ryan Phung, Air Kashani, Mario R. Mata, Aaron Sahm, Nathan Ortiz and Sameer Rao.